Katherine Jenkins - "I Vow To Thee My Country" (Gustav Holtz/Sir Cecil Spring-Rice )

A British anthem taken from a portion of Gustav Holst's "Jupiter--Bringer of Jollity", from "The Planets, Op. 32."

Holst, born in 1874 in Cheltenham, England--that's his statue (above) in the city park--composed this section of his five planets symphony during the First World War. The synphony was first presented in London in 1918 with Adrian Boult as conductor.

The lyrics came from a poem by British ambassador, Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, who was posted in the United States during the Administration of Woodrow Wilson. Spring-Rice's lyrics were incorporatd to the music in 1921.

Here are the first and third verses, as sung in the video:

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
I heard my country calling, away across the sea,
Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

(A second, more militant verse, is usually omitted in present day.)